


The Biggest Catch

by FanficsbyVe



Category: Friday the 13th: The Game (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 16:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15998924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe
Summary: How sparks starting flying between Kenny and Tiffany, near the water. One-shot.





	The Biggest Catch

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm a pretty avid Friday the 13th player. And while the single player campaign randomly seems to pair up counsellors (and is apparently non-canon in that regard, according to Gun Media's commentary on the single player stream), the promo material does seem to set up two couples that the devs deem canon. One is the very obvious Adam/AJ, the other is the far more surprising Kenny/Tiffany. That last one was probably not expected by a lot of people and that had me wonder how these two seemingly very different personalities would end up together. This silly story was the result.
> 
> P.S. The above statement is not me enforcing my/the canon couples. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's preferred ships, but am simply repeating the statements of the Gun Media devs and how they led to me writing this fic. I don't care what you ship, as long as it makes you happy. :)

If there was one saying Tiffany Cox found true throughout her life, it was that first impressions could be deceiving. Of course, you could always glean some things, but appearance could conceal a lot and personally, she figured no one but a certain fictional British detective could truly accurately determine who someone was at first glance. She should know. After all, she was often the receiving side of such impressions. 

All throughout middle school and high school, she’d been one of the popular girls. Pretty, athletic and a social butterfly, she had been the captain on the cheerleading team and voted prom queen, which led to people having a certain image of her. That and her penchant for comfortable clothes that left a lot of skin exposed definitely came with its own set of assumptions, which weren’t always pretty ones. 

The first was that she was a stuck-up bitch. After all, in the minds of some, you couldn’t simply be popular if you weren’t a conniving queen bee willing to throw anyone under the bus. The second one was that she was dumb, because why else would one be a cheerleader unless incredibly vapid? The third one that she was delicate and above hard labor, as if cheerleading wasn’t a Spartan, dangerous activity that didn’t have the luxury of protective clothing. The last one, and the one that annoyed her the most, was that she was easy. Because, in the mind of some entitled boys in school, why would she dress the way she did unless she wanted their attention?

Initially, she had been bothered immensely by people assuming such horrid things about her, but as her school years went on, Tiffany had learned to shrug it off. There was no point in crying about people thinking shitty things when she could instead devote her energy to doing her own thing and proving them wrong. She could instead be genuinely nice to people. She could do well at her schoolwork, even if she struggled with math-related ones. And she wasn’t obliged to respond to any unwanted advances of any guy, with “slut” being more hilarious than hurtful as an insult when coming from a whole group of people she wouldn’t have sex with. Besides, she told herself, school would eventually end and in the adult world, these stupid little politics would be gone.

Unfortunately, not everyone got that memo. 

While she overall liked the group of counsellors she was going to spend the summer at Camp Crystal Lake with, she sometimes couldn’t get over how childish everyone still was. Everyone got along for the most part, but there was so much gossiping and rivalries going on that she sometimes wondered if she was back in high school. The guys were almost worse than the girls in that regard.

She had barely been here for three days or she had already found herself part of an unwilling love triangle with Shelly and Buggzy. The two guys spent nearly every moment near her flexing the proverbial muscles, uttering pickup lines as subtle as a brick and glaring at each other, in a display fueled by testosterone and stupidity. Never mind that neither bothered to even ask her if she was interested in either of them as more than a colleague or friend nor did she recall doing anything to encourage them besides being polite, friendly and not treating them like garbage.

Of course, she’d love to point that out to them, but something told her that it’d be about as fruitful as trying to teach the alphabet to a polyp. In the face of so much boneheaded-ness, and risk of creating hostile relationships with people she’d have to look after children with for over a month, there really was no other choice but let it run its course and try it ignore it wherever she could. Instead, she decided to get up at half past three in the morning and go do the one solitary activity that always calmed her down when dealing with insufferable levels of bullshit. 

Fishing. 

So, as the sun was creeping over the hills surrounding the camp, Tiffany was sneaking out of the sleeping area armed with a fishing rod she found while cleaning up the camp, a bucket and some canned meat for bait. She prepared herself a flask of coffee as well as some biscuits, then quietly crept through the door and set out. Her aim was to head for the nearest pier at the edge of that beautiful lake, get a deckchair and then spend a glorious few hours in blessed silence, just watching her float while she contemplated life. 

At least, that was the plan until she saw the pier was occupied. There was someone already there, with a deckchair of their own and, from the looks of it, having a fishing rod in the water. And off the top of her head, she couldn’t think of anyone she knew who’d be here and spend their mornings like that. 

She frowned in surprise and her first thought was to look for another one. Still, that idea was quickly abandoned as she wondered just who else would be up at such an ungodly hour. The camp was supposed to be closed and most of her fellow counsellors weren’t exactly morning people. So knowing might be a good thing for everyone’s safety, even if she didn’t really believe the urban legend about an undead killer with a machete and a hockey mask roaming around.

Tightly gripping the rod as a weapon just in case, she slowly approached. She squinted her eyes against the sunlight, inching ever closer to discern the figure, just praying he wasn’t some kind of pervert or homeless person who entered the terrain illegally. Yet as she got close enough and became able to distinguish a red flannel shirt from the back, her question as to the identity was pretty much answered.

Truth be told, she felt she didn’t really know Kenny Riedell all that well. He was appointed Head Counsellor within a day of his arrival and she couldn’t really disagree with that as he seemed mature, responsible, hardworking and got along with everyone. Still, while he was genuinely nice, he also was somewhat of a closed book. He wasn’t in the habit to tell much about himself or show his emotions and at this point, she didn’t really know what to think of him besides him being agreeable. Still, he wasn’t a dangerous intruder, so that was a plus. 

Tiffany let out a relieved sigh and it was right around that moment that he turned around and looked at her. “Oh, morning Tiffany.”

She gave a friendly smile in response. “Morning, Kenny.”

The head counsellor nodded back, only for his expression to become puzzled as he looked her over. “Why are you carrying a fishing rod?”

The female counsellor blinked for a moment. What kind of question was that? Here they were, at the edge of a lake, and she was carrying equipment to fish. What on earth did he possibly think she was going to do with it? Use it as a stripping pole to give a show to the yellow perches? She was about to get annoyed, but she decided it was better to take her refuge in snide humor. 

“I’m planning to track down and catch a Sasquatch.” 

To his credit, Kenny quickly caught on she was being sarcastic with him. He flushed red for a short second, clearly embarrassed. Still, it wasn’t long before surprise returned to his voice. 

“You…fish?”

She shrugged, quietly tallying up how rich she would’ve received at this point if she got a penny every time she heard that question. “Well yeah, been fishing since I was ten. I was gonna camp out at this pier but it’s clearly taken.”

Again, he turned a shade of red and after a few moments of awkward silence, he piped up. “Well, it’s a big pier. I’ll scoot over and there’s plenty of room for both of us.”

For a second, she thought of turning it down as she really wanted some alone time. Still, not really feeling like having to drag all of her stuff to another pier, she figured she might as well. From what she knew of Kenny so far, he wasn’t a loud or intrusive person, so she could still enjoy her hobby in peace even if he was there. As such, she smiled at him while pulling up her own deckchair.

“Thanks.”

He nodded back and soon, the two of them were sitting beside each other in utter silence, gazing at their floats as they danced across the blue water. Occasionally, she would reach over for a sip of coffee or a bite of bread, but mostly, she allowed her mind to wander. She thought about the colleges she had applied for, about the possible career paths a degree in history could provide her, but mostly about the travel plans she hoped to fulfill while waiting for an acceptance letter. That last one especially occupied her enough that it took a while before she realized her fellow counsellor was talking to her again. 

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I never really pegged you as the type to enjoy fishing.”

She found herself letting out a chuckle at that. “You and practically every other person I’ve ever met. I guess pompoms and outdoorsmanship don’t naturally mix.”

He barely suppressed a snicker of his own. “So…your dad taught you too?”

Tiffany shook her head, already anticipating the kind of reaction she’d get at the full story. “My mom, actually. She’s kind of adventurous, used to go out in the wilderness with my grandfather. Worked as a national park ranger for a long time. Naturally, she wanted to pass it on but dad, the twin sis and the baby brother weren’t too excited about sleeping in a tent, endless hikes and shooting elks, so I’m proudly carrying on the family tradition.”

Indeed, Kenny’s eyebrows practically flew up as he took in all the words she said. It didn’t surprise her. Most people imagined a cheerleader to have a typical stage mom for a mother, but Mariah Brookmeyer-Cox was not really a woman who cared for living up to expectations. Coming to think of it, it was probably where she got it from too. As far as she was concerned, enjoying fashion and riding an ATV worked perfectly fine together. 

Kenny, however, didn’t seem that weak-hearted. If anything, he seemed incredibly impressed. “Wow, definitely not your average mom then. And you actually shot elks?”

She nodded. “Yup, though only during the seasons when there was overpopulation. We took it home afterwards and ate and used all the parts too.”

He smiled. “The way it should be. I don’t see the point of hunting just for the sake of it or just a trophy on the wall.”

Tiffany relaxed a little at that, glad that she was at least not dealing with some misguided activist here. “Yeah, some people think it’s really cruel, but these are often the same people who eat meat from slaughterhouses. At least that elk lived freely all its life and died quickly and painlessly.”

He let out a murmur in agreement, his attention briefly drawn by his float as it stirred for a second, then continued to bob across the water again. Tiffany turned her attention to her own rod as well, giving the line some slack. They enjoyed a few comfortable moments of silence, after which she decided she might as well as him about his home life as well. 

“So what about your family? Your dad’s the outdoorsy type then? And what’s your mom like?”

He grinned. “Yup. He grew up in the Appalachian area, so it comes with the territory. Taking your son out to fish is kind of a rite of passage to a family of mountain men. My mom, well, she is the typical Latina mom. Cooks loads, wears the pants, won’t take shit, wonders when you will finally give her grandkids.”

Tiffany barely found herself holding back a laugh at that, already mentally picturing the woman. “No chancla, at least.”

Kenny simply smirked in order to hide laughter of his own as he pointed to their rods. “So you went with canned meat for bait, huh?”

She chuckled. “Yeah. I didn’t really think the others would appreciate me digging around to collect worms and I can’t get maggots or minnows that easily. And bigger fish are easier to catch with meat than bread.”

“True, but there are other alternatives too. Bacon. Cheese. Hot dogs. Dog Food. Soap actually works great for catfish. Oh, and gummies.”

She raised her eyebrows at that with a smile. “Really? I heard about that one, but I thought it sounded too silly to work.”

He shook his head insistently. “No, really, I tested it. If it’s colorful and it wiggles, they’ll go for it. Fish aren’t very bright.”

This got another laugh from her and soon, the two of them were occupied with discussing their biggest catches and most exciting outdoor adventures. Everything, from mishaps to finest moment, generating much awe and humor in the process while sharing coffee and biscuits. All these things, Tiffany decided, easily made it the single best conversation she had so far.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like talking about makeup, boys, music and women’s issues with the girls, but she liked the fact that she could share her other big passion with someone. What’s more, Kenny didn’t seem at all intimidated by her own exploits like a lot of other guys. If anything, he too seemed to enjoy exchanging survival tips with someone else who enjoyed the pastime.

In the meantime, their fishing was also starting to go well. He got the first catch, a nicely sized yellow perch. She soon followed with a largemouth bass and it wasn’t long before both were racking up a nice full bucket of fish. This only added to what Tiffany considered a very good morning and she once again decided that going out to fish was the best decision she could make.

They were already discussing what to do with their catch, when Kenny’s line suddenly started to stir again and he jumped up.

“Oh wow, it’s a big one!”

There was a clear sense of excitement in his voice and it immediately drew Tiffany’s eyes to the line. She saw the float was pulled deep underwater, the line taut. Something down there had taken the bait and it was pulling back with all its might. She could see how her fishing partner braced himself, reeling in with all his might, and she was just about to get up and help him when the unexpected happened.

Suddenly, there was a swift, almost impossible yank to the line, one stronger than any fish she knew could manage. In an instant, it pulled Kenny forward a good three or four feet. He dug his heels in as a response, only for his foot to catch on a loose, rotted board they had diligently avoided so far. The hunk of wood couldn’t withstand the weight and pressure and there was a loud crack as he slipped backwards and off the pier, his head making a dull thud against the side.

The sight was horrific and yet, Tiffany didn’t even manage to let out a scream. Instead, she found her own body going on autopilot. Within a fraction of a second, she had chucked aside her own fishing rod and dived right after him into the water, having no other thought in her mind in that she had to get him out right this instant.

Taking a deep breath and submerging, she started looking around to find her fellow counsellor. The water was thankfully clear, allowing her to see and she focused on where she had seen Kenny fall in. Any panic she felt at seeing blood in the water got pushed to the back of her head, willing herself to quickly follow it down in order to find him.

Tiffany didn’t have to search for long. A feet or so below her, near the bottom of the lake, she quickly honed in on a red flannel shirt underwater. Kenny clearly wasn’t unconscious, already squirming and trying to paddle, but clearly flailing and disorientated. Large bubbles came pouring out of his mouth, almost as if he was running out of oxygen. Without thinking, she swam down, slipped an arm over his chest, pushed off against a nearby rock and started swimming upwards, dragging him with her to the surface.

By the time she pulled his head above the water, both were gasping for air. Still, Kenny was clearly in a worse shape than her and thus she kept holding on to him and pulled him to the nearby shore, before dragging him onto the bank. While not much taller than her, he was quite a bit stockier and heavier and she once again thanked her cheerleading training for keeping her physically fit enough to pull this off. She swiftly turned him onto his side, just to make sure any water that might be in his mouth could come out without choking him.

Seeing how he was coughing, hacking and clearly conscious, she turned her attention to his head and winced. His close encounter with the side of the pier had definitely left his mark. There was a large gash going from his forehead to his right temple and while it only seemed like a superficial wound without any internal damage, it was gushing blood all over his face and her hand.

Realizing he might become woozy and pass out, she quickly looked around for something to stem the bleeding. She had familiarized herself well with the locations of First Aid kits in the camp, but the nearest she could think of required a jog back to the pier and she’d rather not leave him alone right now. Nor would her now wet clothing make much of a difference. Then, a lightbulb went on over her head and she reached inside the pocket of her jeans. 

She yanked out one of the water-sealed sanitary pads she kept in there and tore off the packaging. She turned the absorbing side to the wound and pressed it against it. She then grabbed Kenny’s hand and put it in place of her own, before helping him sit up. 

“Here, keep some pressure on it.”

Kenny did so wordlessly and for that she was thankful. She had tended to bloody injuries before while out hiking with her mom and some of the men they had assisted seemed to lose their shit the moment feminine health items were waved their way, even when there was a lot of blood and no bandages available. Right now was not the time to be allergic to cooties.

“Can you stand?”

He nodded in response, trying to use his one free arm to prop himself up to his feet. She rushed in to help, noticing that he still looked rather wobbly, before taking his arm and trying to support some of his weight. She then moved forward, motioning him to follow her lead, but when she steered away from the main cabin, he frowned.

“Where are you taking me?”

She gave him a stern look. “The car. We’re getting you to the ER. That thing looks like it needs stitching and for all we know, you might have a concussion or a fractured skull. I want a doctor to look at you before I let you go anywhere else.” 

“Yes, nurse Cox…”

In any other case, that playful sarcasm might’ve made her chuckle, but right now, Tiffany was on a mission and too focused to care. Instead, she determinedly marched him to the car she saw, left him temporarily to retrieve keys from the nearby cabin, put him in the passenger seat and got in at the driver’s side. After checking both their seatbelts, because God knew she didn’t want any more mishaps, she turned the key in the ignition and soon, they were driving out of Camp Crystal Lake to the nearest hospital.

Keeping one eye on the road, she also eyed Kenny to make sure he wasn’t passing out. Thankfully, he seemed to be doing quite okay. In fact, he was grinning.

“The pad trick… Smart one…”

This time, she did smile. “They’re good for absorbing blood in more places than one. Next best thing when you don’t have any medical supplies at hand.”

He leaned back against the seat, readjusting the pressure on the pad as they drove. “Well, I’m glad you thought of it. You sure earned your outdoor girl credentials back there.”

She graciously took that compliment, but as they drove in silence for a few more minutes, she couldn’t help but wonder something. “So, how are you feeling? You seemed to have a lot of trouble coming back up to the surface…”

Kenny gave her a look. “Yeah…It wasn’t just because I hit my head either. I…got stuck down there. I don’t know how that happened or what did it. I managed to get out my pocket knife and stab at it, but it took a lot out of me…”

Tiffany listened to it in silence, the gears in her head turning. It didn’t seem to her that Kenny was lying or trying to save face. After all, being able to swim was a requirement for working in the camp and from what she had seen so far, he was one of the most adept swimmers of the group. Still, as she swam down to save him, she didn’t recall seeing anything near the bottom that anyone could get stuck on nor could she think of any aquatic life in this region big enough to grab at a human.

Something Kenny seemed to realize at the exact same time as her. “It felt weird… Almost as if something was…grabbing me…”

Again, there was a silence between them, one in which both of them shared a look and knew they were wondering the exact same thing.

Both of them had heard the stories about this place, even before they decided to work here. The stories of a drowned boy and strange, unexplained murders by some killer in the woods. There were talks that the place was cursed and that the souls that had perished at the camp were still present there somehow.

Tiffany was rather skeptical about that last one, but she couldn’t deny the story of the killer set her somewhat on edge. Yet those killings were years and years ago and from what she had heard, the killer got caught. Besides, it wasn’t exactly possible for a serial killer to just languish at the bottom of a lake waiting for victims? You’d need a scuba set for that at least and you wouldn’t be able to swim away that quickly…

It seemed Kenny was on the same page with her, as he suddenly shrugged and shook his head. “I dunno… I hit my head pretty hard. I’m not entirely sure what happened down there. I might just have been out of it.”

She found herself quietly nodding in agreement with that, not able to think of a better explanation for it at the moment. Instead, she turned back to the road, seeing the small town come into sight at last. She already knew which way the hospital was and she turned to him with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded at the ER and within an hour, it seemed the whole episode at the waterside was only going to be a minor affair. While Kenny did indeed need some minor stitches, he fortunately hadn’t sustained any head trauma and seemed happy and cheerful throughout the entire checkout and procedure. The doctor even commended her on her makeshift way to stem the bleeding, though it got a little awkward when he told Kenny that he had a wonderful girlfriend and they both had to swiftly explain they were just co-workers at the camp.

About an hour later, the both of them were good to go again and after quickly buying him a soda and a candy bar from a vending machine to get his blood sugar back up, they were back in the car and on their way to the camp again. The ride was quiet for the most part and she figured it was no doubt due to their empty stomachs and the stress. Yet at the first road marker for Camp Crystal Lake came into sight, Kenny spoke up.

“Sorry for ruining your morning, Tiff. Kind of messed up your quiet time.”

She looked over to him and for a moment, she wondered why he felt he had to be sorry for anything. Sure, they had to suddenly rush to the ER, but that wasn’t exactly through any fault or recklessness on his part. It was simply a freak accident and up to that part, he had been excellent company and she enjoyed her morning all the same.

She smiled. “It’s no big deal. Accidents happen. Besides, if I wasn’t there, who knows what might have happened to you. And fishing together was fun. We should do that some more this summer, when we have the time.”

Her remark seemed to catch him off guard and for a moment, she swore his cheeks were turning red. Still, he caught himself before she could even begin to tease him about that. He coughed a little, quickly perking up and changing the subject.

“How about I make some breakfast to make it up to you? We can use the fish we caught. They’re probably still in the buckets.”

It was at that moment that Tiffany’s own stomach piped up in response and she nearly burst out laughing then and there. In any other case, she might tease him and tell him that it was a nice save, but seeing how they both clearly needed some food after all their misadventures in the early morning, she definitely wasn’t going to turn down a free breakfast by a nice fishing partner. Besides, seeing how he had camping experience, she felt somewhat confident in his ability to cook.

“Okay, I’m definitely taking you up on that.”

Once back at the camp, it turned out her faith in Kenny was justified. With an hour, he’d made them both some delicious fresh fish omelets with cheese and fish hash with potatoes from their own catch. Both dishes were fantastic and Tiffany was sure to compliment him on his efforts, something that clearly pleased him to no end, before asking where exactly he learned the recipes and engaging him on things to eat in the wild when out of supplies on a hike. 

It was like this, eating and chatting, that the rest of the counsellors found them an hour or so later. Needless to say, they were rather confused at the sight and even more so at the fact that there was now a large stitched gash on Kenny’s forehead. Moreover, Buggzy and Shelly seemed to be shocked, horrified and appalled by the mystery of why she and Kenny seemed to be on such good terms suddenly. Still, even they accepted the situation pretty quickly when he promised to tell them everything over breakfast, after which they all eagerly attacked the leftovers of his homecooked meal.

Once everyone had settled in, the both of them proceeded to tell everyone of the events that had transpired that morning. The others all listened with both shock and interest, even a little disbelief at finding out that Tiffany had some untraditional pastimes. Some of the boys especially seemed skeptical of the idea of her being so capable, only to be put in their place by Kenny, who pretty much praised her to high heavens and made even her blush.

In fact, she realized, she didn’t just like the fact that he stood up for her and seemed to appreciate her outdoor skills. He had proven wonderful company this afternoon and if anything, she liked his no-nonsense attitude and the fact they could talk about shared interests. If anything, she realized she was quite starting to like Kenny as a person as well…

She quickly took a sip of coffee to hide the redness of her cheeks at that thought. She hadn’t exactly taken up a job here to find a boyfriend. Her mind was firmly on getting some extra money and credits for college after the summer, so she didn’t really have time for relationships. Still, she couldn’t deny that there was…something there and that she definitely didn’t mind spending time with him.

A small chuckle left her throat at that. Perhaps that was as far as she needed to look for now. After all, she was young and carefree and this summer was meant to enjoy the remainder of her teenage years before making the big step to adulthood. And if she ended up having a nice summer fling or, hell, even just forge a nice friendship with a lovely guy, well, that would make it all worthwhile. All she knew was that if she could go fishing with Kenny in the mornings, this summer would be great.


End file.
